Mercedes fires Formula One staff over racist bullying

Mercedes has dismissed four members of its Formula One staff and reprimanded three others after the employees were found to have engaged in racist bullying against a co-worker.

The F1 team behind world champion Lewis Hamilton confirmed the employees, who reportedly worked for the IT department, were terminated on 2 August for actions directed toward a Muslim colleague.

An internal investigation at the UK headquarters revealed the staff in question violated the company’s diversity policy after calling their co-worker a ‘Muslim terrorist’ and running a poll about the co-worker breaking his Ramadan fast.

“We condemn this behaviour in the strongest terms and acted immediately upon the complaint. We value the diversity of our employees and it is a source of strength for our team,” Mercedes said in a statement.

In March, Hamilton – the first black F1 racer – expressed dismay over racism in the sports world. “It is crazy to think that at this time in the world, racism is still such a prominent thing,” he said.